Navalny team says relatives refused access to his body for third day

Navalny team says relatives refused access to his body for third day

The relatives of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been refused access to his body for a third day, his team said Monday, saying his mother was "not allowed" into a morgue where it could be being held.

This file photo taken on January 16, 2018 shows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny during an interview with AFP at the office of his Anti-corruption Foundation (FBK) in Moscow. Tests carried out on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny provide cl
AFP

Russia's prison service said Navalny died after a walk in his Arctic prison on Friday.

His mother, Lyudmila, travelled to the remote colony on Saturday, but has still not been allowed access to her son's body.

"Alexei's mother and his lawyers arrived at the morgue early in the morning. They were not allowed to go in. One of the lawyers was literally pushed out. When the staff was asked if Alexei's body was there, they did not answer," Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media.

The charismatic Navalny was President Vladimir Putin's main political opponent.

His death came three years into his imprisonment in Russia.

He died in the Russian Far North in one of Russia's harshest prisons after his health had deteriorated for months.

Putin has not yet commented on the death.

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